"Recessional" is James A. Michener's overview of the problems that face America's aging citizens, represented by characters residing in a Florida retirement center. The novel salutes the incalculable worth of a person's lifetime to family, friends and associates. It depicts love gained and shared in all seasons; love shattered by tragedy or betrayal; love triumphantly reborn.
Again using research to accompany and bolster his fiction (as in the earlier "Alaska," "Centennial," "Mexico" and others), Mr. Michener examines some of today's stern realities: Alzheimer's disease; AIDS; living wills; the moral and legal fight pitting advocates of unquestioned life support for brain-dead patients against those who seek the right to choose death.
But the presentation is lively, thoughtful, emotional. While some characters may seem larger than life in heroics or single-mindedness, that is a facet of the writer's pragmatic, emphatic style.
The story unfolds in three episodes, Arrivals, Explorations and Departures, with drama in each.
Dr. Andy Zorn is hired to direct the Palms in Tampa, one of 87 retirement centers owned by John Taggart, who stresses the center's excellent reputation but makes clear that improved profitability is desired.
In depicting the lives of several residents, and of their care-givers, at the Palms, Mr. Michener reveals his warmth and sympathy. But he is also angry at some situations they -- and people in daily life -- encounter:
* The terrible frustrations of fighting AIDS -- the patients' certainty of death, medical limitations and the public's misunderstandings and fears.
* The reluctance of many physicians to give clear, direct advice to patients who request it. An expert on mammary cancer says to a woman who is considering the defensive steps available, other than a second mastectomy: "It is not in my capacity or knowledge to tell you what to do . . . " -- only the patient can decide.
* The torture of Alzheimer's disease, to victims and their loved ones. A husband, after finally placing his wife in extended care, still dresses her and takes her to dinner at the Palms; but she no longer recognizes him and hurls verbal abuse, as though at an enemy. Shortly after she dies of natural causes, he commits suicide.
* The aggressive effort of organizations and their agents who sometimes enter retirement centers as unannounced spies to search for any signs that life-support systems may have been improperly monitored.
Most readers will find that these serious matters are handled by Mr. Michener in an instructive, entertaining and emotional style. They will become involved in the thoughts and actions of his characters who, despite advanced age, are youthful in heart and spirit.
BOOK REVIEW
Title: "Recessional"
Author: James A. Michener
Publisher: Random House
Length, price: 484 pages, $25